


Be the Distraction

by Zenceteri



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Social Anxiety, bokuken centric but in bokuakakuroken context, panic attacks - kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 02:30:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7023112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zenceteri/pseuds/Zenceteri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something embarrassing happens to Kenma in public and Bokuto takes it upon himself to help him out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Be the Distraction

Kenma held onto his tray, concentrating on balancing his plate of food and his soft drink so none of it would spill as he followed Kuroo to join the others, the loud chatter of the people around him, mixed with the sounds of eating and the faint pop songs playing over the mall's speakers grating on his nerves.

"Man, it sure is crowded today," Kuroo remarked when they reached Bokuto and Akaashi who held trays of their own, gaze drifting over the seating area of the mall's food court filled with people. "Do you see a free table anywhere?" he added but the others just shook their heads.

"Maybe we should split up to look for a table," Bokuto suggested as he kept sweeping the area with the side of his hand pressed to his forehead to shield his eyes from nonexistent sunlight.

"Alright," Kuroo said. "You and Akaashi go that way, Kenma and I will go this way, just holler when you find a free table."

"Will do," Bokuto replied, grinning, before turning around, Akaashi behind him.

"Come on, Kenma," Kuroo said, ushering him in the other direction.

Kenma sighed. He was exhausted from a day at the mall and just wanted to go home. His fingers itched to try out the new game that was resting in a plastic bag hanging from his wrist, but the others insisted on getting food before heading home, so Kenma didn't really have a choice. Following Kuroo, he scanned the crowd for an opening where he and his partners could sit and eat their food but so far it looked pretty hopeless. Seeing these masses of people, Kenma started to feel a little uneasy; he didn't like crowds to begin with and he already had to deal with tons of people the whole time they had been at the mall and the later it got, the more Kenma just wanted to get away and curl up under his blanket.

Kenma had already resigned himself to circling the food court for the rest of his life when Kuroo suddenly stopped and pointed somewhere.

"Looks like Bokuto and Akaashi had more luck than us," he said and Kenma followed his out-stretched arm with his eyes to where Bokuto was waving and jumping up and down. "Let's go," Kuroo added and started to make his way over there, picking up his pace.

Kenma struggled a little to keep up with Kuroo's brisk strides and not spill his drink when suddenly the next step he took felt a little off and suddenly the only thing he knew was that his butt hurt and there was something warm on his chest and in his lap, while the ground around him felt wet and sticky.

"Kenma!" came Kuroo's voice from somewhere but it already felt distant as the only things Kenma could process were all the eyes that where suddenly on him, judging.

' _Stupid, stupid, stupid_.' The word bounced around Kenma's mind like a mantra and he felt hot and cold at the same time, his breath coming faster and faster. Shame and mortification burned through him and his eyes were stinging with desperate tears.

The need to be invisible, to disappear from all the people looking at him was suddenly overwhelming but he couldn't do anything, he just sat there on the floor, covered in food, his spilt drink soaking his pants.

It could have only been a second until Kuroo was by his side, brushing noodles from his lap and trying to help him up, but to Kenma it felt like forever, an eternity in which he was alone with all those stares. Kuroo was saying something to him but Kenma could barely hear him over the rushing in his ears.

Suddenly there was another familiar, boisterous voice ringing through the room, even managing to get through to Kenma, who turned his head in the direction of the voice.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Bokuto was shouting, standing atop a table and holding his tray in his hands and the attention of the people shifted from Kenma to him. Kenma could see Akaashi standing next to the table probably trying to get Bokuto down from there but to no avail.

"Oh, god," Kuroo said next to him as Bokuto took his cup of soda, now holding the drink in one hand and the tray with his food in the other.

"Yes, yes, look at me!" Bokuto kept shouting as he poured his drink all over the front of his shirt. There was an audible gasp from the people around but Bokuto didn't seem to be done. He threw his now empty cup to the floor and took the plate from the tray, throwing the tray down as well.

"What the fuck is he doing?" Kuroo said next to Kenma, who had managed to stand up, now that no one was looking at him anymore.

Bokuto was now grinning mischievously as he lifted the plate of food over his head. Next to him, Akaashi had given up on trying to talk sense into him and was just covering his face with his hand.

It almost seemed like time was slowing down as everyone in the vicinity was staring at Bokuto as he slowly tipped over the plate, dumping the food all over his head, laughing maniacally.

He kept laughing until a security person finally showed up, ordering him to come down from the table and escorted him out, Akaashi in tow.

"We should probably leave as well," Kuroo said.

 

Kenma, Akaashi and Bokuto were sitting on the stairs outside the mall, while Kuroo talked to the security person.

"I think I know what you were trying to do," Akaashi said as he was picking rice out of Bokuto's hair, " but couldn't you have done something a little less... messy?"

Bokuto shrugged, he looked a little dejected, probably from the security person's scolding. Kenma was dabbing at his shirt with a napkin in a futile attempt to dry it.

"I had to think of something quick and that was the first thing that came to mind," Bokuto explained with a sigh. "I know how much Kenma hates being stared at and I didn't want him to feel bad, so I tried to make them stop looking at him."

Kenma felt his chest grow tight at the explanation; in the moment it was happening he had been a little too overwhelmed to process what exactly was going on, but hearing that Bokuto would do something like this for him, just so he didn't have to deal with people staring at him was a lot to take in.

"Well, you certainly were successful in diverging attention from Kenma and I doubt that anyone is even going to remember him," Akaashi said, "Who's going to remember a guy who slipped when there was also a lunatic standing on a table and throwing food at himself."

"Then it was worth it," Bokuto said smiling and the gratefulness and affection Kenma felt for him in that moment was almost too much.

"Thank you," he mumbled and Bokuto turned around to smile at him but before he could say anything, Kenma leaned up and pressed a small kiss to the corner of Bokuto's mouth.

Bokuto looked surprised for a moment but then he beamed. "No problem!" he said, "I'd do it again anytime," he added and Kenma felt himself blush.

"Maybe not here, though," Kuroo suddenly interjected as he walked over to them, a serious look on his face. "That security guy said if he ever sees you at the food stands again, he's going to call the police."

Bokuto deflated a little at this.

"But I managed to talk him out of banning you from the whole mall, so you can still go to that sport equipment store you love," Kuroo added with a self-satisfied smirk and Bokuto perked up again at this. "But you really shouldn't go near the food court."

"Thanks, Kuroo!" Bokuto said, jumping up and going in for a hug, but Kuroo lifted a hand to keep him from getting closer.

"Yeah, we're not gonna do this until you're wearing clean clothes."

"Fair enough," Bokuto agreed, grinning but then his expression grew sour again as his stomach grumbled loudly. "Ughh, but I'm still starving," he whined dramatically.

"We can order in, when we're home," Akaashi suggested and was met with unanimous agreement.

 

As soon as the door to their apartment fell closed behind them, Kenma sighed in relief, glad that this nightmare of a day finally seemed to come to an end. They took off their shoes and all Kenma wanted to do was get out off the rest of his dirty clothes and he assumed Bokuto felt similarly.

"Why don't you two take a bath?" Akaashi asked and Kenma had to admit that a bath sounded great right then. "Kuroo and I can sort out dinner."

"Are you sure?" Bokuto asked but Akaashi just gave him a look.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Shoo," Kuroo added with the appropriate hand motion and Kenma dragged Bokuto towards the bathroom.

They stripped down and just dumped their dirty clothes by the door before getting into the bathroom. Since they only had one stool, Bokuto sat down on the floor in front of Kenma's legs while he sprayed them both with water. They cleaned their bodies quickly and efficiently and Kenma washed Bokuto's hair for him, running his fingers along Bokuto's scalp and making him sigh as he relaxed. Bokuto leaned his head back into Kenma's lap, his eyes closed as Kenma washed the shampoo out of Bokuto's hair. When he was done, Kenma leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Bokuto's forehead. Opening his eyes lazily, Bokuto smiled up at him and Kenma gave a small smile of his own.

"Come on," Bokuto said. He got up off the floor and stepped into their bathtub, slowly sinking into the hot water. He spread his arms towards Kenma and Kenma climbed in as well with his back resting against Bokuto's chest. Wrapping his arms around Kenma's waist to keep him close he kissed the side of his head. Immediately, Kenma could feel the tension of the day leave his body as he relaxed against Bokuto's chest.

"Thanks again for today," he mumbled, playing with Bokuto's fingers. The gratefulness he felt also mixing with some guilt. Bokuto tightened his arms around Kenma a little. "Don't worry about it," he replied, nuzzling the side of Kenma's head, behind his ear.

"I do feel silly, though. For overreacting like this," Kenma continued, his voice barely above a whisper, some of the mortification from before settling back in his bones. "You shouldn't have to feel like you have to do something so drastic just to make me feel better when I'm being irrational."

"Kenma," Bokuto said, leaning forward and to the side a little so he could see his face. Kenma turned his head as well because he felt Bokuto wanted to look into his eyes but he looked at Bokuto's mouth instead. Apparently that was enough for Bokuto, though, because he continued.

"I don't feel like I _have_ to do anything but when I think someone I care about is upset I _want_ to do something about it, no matter why they're upset," he explained. "Besides, it was kind of fun to make a mess like this and the looks on people's faces were absolutely hilarious," he said with a huge, slightly mischievous grin. "So don't feel bad about it,ok?"

"Ok," Kenma said. He lifted his gaze to finally look into Bokuto's eyes and gave a small smile, which was returned with a huge one from Bokuto, who squeezed Kenma and pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheek before relaxing again.

Kenma was always a little amazed by how easy Bokuto's logic seemed to be; there was no overthinking things, no regard for how he might look to people, at least those who didn't matter, and if there was something he thought he should to, he just did it. It was so different from how Kenma's mind worked. Sometimes he wished that Bokuto would think a little more before he acted, just to make sure that he wouldn't get hurt but at the end of the day, he was glad that Bokuto was just the way he was, with his impulsivity, enthusiasm, and easy trust and he wouldn't want to change him, even if he had the chance. Kenma also wished that he was better at expressing his feelings for Bokuto. He thrived on affection, on compliments and Kenma often felt guilty for not being able to give enough of those to Bokuto.

But this time Kenma felt like he needed to step up his game, to let Bokuto know how much he cared about him. He turned and shifted in the tub so he was straddling Bokuto's legs instead of sitting between them, wrapped his arms around Bokuto's neck and leaned in until their lips were touching. Bokuto seemed surprised for a second but then he kissed back, putting his hands on Kenma's waist. When Kenma pulled back to take a breath, he pressed his forehead to Bokuto's and willed him to understand how much he appreciated and loved him without having to use words, since those weren't exactly Kenma's strong suit. Bokuto gave him a small smile and lifted his hands to gently cradle Kenma's head, leading his lips back to his. The kiss was sweet and gentle and rather short and Kenma moved to press small kisses to Bokuto's cheek and his neck before he rested his head on Bokuto's shoulder, breathing against his skin.

If they hadn't been so exhausted, the situation might've turned into something a little less innocent, but Kenma was truly drained and Bokuto didn't make a move to turn this into something else either and that wasn't really what this was about anyway. So they were just sitting there, pressed against each other and enjoying each other's presence.

"I do love you," Kenma finally whispered, unsure if Bokuto heard him but unable to speak up.

"I love you, too, Kenma," Bokuto replied and to Kenma it felt like there had been some kind of weight lifted off his shoulder now that he successfully communicated his feelings. This hadn't been the first time they had said these words to each other and yet it still felt significant as they kept sitting pressed together in the bathtub. After a while Kenma's eyes slipped shut, the exhaustion of the day finally taking its toll and he felt himself edging closer and closer to sleep when their doorbell rang annoyingly.

"Guess our food is here," Bokuto said a little groggily, his voice thick. "We should probably get out."

"Just another moment," Kenma mumbled against Bokuto's skin, burying his face in his neck.

They sat there for another few moments until there was a knock on the door.

"Dinner's ready," came Kuroo's voice through the door. When he didn't get a reply, he knocked again. "Come on, guys. Did you fall asleep in there?"

"We'll be right out," Bokuto replied finally but didn't make a move to actually get out. 

**Author's Note:**

> I like the idea of Kenma being comfortable around Bokuto because he is good at grabbing the attention of people so they don't pay attention to Kenma. I guess this is kinda that.
> 
> Also it got a little more schoopy in the end than intended but oh well


End file.
